Rachowice

History

The village was founded in the 13th century within fragmented Piast-ruled Poland. Later on, it fell to Bohemia (Czechia) and Prussia. In 1861, it had a population of 645. In 1871, it became part of the German Empire. In the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, 69.5% of the residents voted to rejoin Poland, which just regained independence following World War I, however the village remained within Germany in the interbellum. In 1936, during a massive Nazi campaign of renaming of placenames, the village was renamed to Buchenlust to erase traces of Polish origin. During World War II, the Germans operated the E149 forced labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344 prisoner-of-war camp in the village. British prisoners of war were engaged in forestry work. In January 1945 the prisoners of war were evacuated on foot, in extreme winter weather conditions, and had to march for four months in a generally westward direction, until liberated by Allied forces. Following the war, in 1945, the village became again part of Poland and its historic name was restored.

Most-observed species

• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  802
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  636
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  627
• Graylag Goose

  Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  610
• Great Crested Grebe

  Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  571
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  566
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  566
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  560

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-04-09
  1 km WNW of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2025-04-29
  4 km WSW of Bytom, Poland
• M 3.2 — 2025-01-27
  1 km NE of Radlin, Poland
• M 2.9 — 2024-07-11
  4 km N of Jejkowice, Poland
• M 3 — 2023-10-04
  2 km W of Murcki, Poland
• M 2.8 — 2023-01-12
  2 km ENE of Karviná, Czechia